After reading my stories of 1976-77, many people have written to me about their
own experiences of Emergency in India. Some had their brothers and fathers
in prison for no fault, and some feel the same danger exists in India of today.

The most amusing feedback is about my bare feet in the
picture. It was common at the time to go around the town
in barefoot. I did have some footwear, but everybody in my
school came barefooted, so I also did. After some time,
the bottom of my foot became so callous and hard that once
I tried to bang a nail into it, and it wouldn't hurt!

Another Footwear Story

Like I said, my family bought us footwear, but we never
wore them, except on special occasions. On one such occasion,
my cousin Pradeep wore his chappals (Indian footwear) to a relative's house
for the annual
death anniversary of an ancestor. While returning (you leave the footwear outside
the home while visiting), he forgot that he had worn shoes to the function!

One year passed, and the occasion came again.
We were instructed
to put on good clothes and footwear. But Pradeep couldn't find
his chappals! -- He had lost them one year ago!

Essence of the story -- For a whole year, Pradeep didn't need his footwear.

I saw an implementation of a dot-net application. DotNet is high on sex-appeal, and low on writing durable software systems.
Microsoft has made the same mistakes they made with bound-data-controls (VB) and design-time controls (VStudio). I'd recommend it to customers who can only swim in the Wintel pool.

This weekend I am hosting a long time friend, who is hoping for an Oscar for the Hindi movie Lagaan.
I dislike Indian movies in general, and hate Bollywood in particular. Both of us are going to stick to our guns, and argue our wits out.

My newest complaint about Bollywood -- What's up with the use two successive 'A's (as in Salaam, Pyaar etc)?Do I have to change my name to Vikaas Kaamat now? and rename India to Indiaa?

Indian-American Protest to CNN

An online petition signed by 60,000 people has been submitted to CNN. It makes
interesting reading.

I have finally found time to compile a list of Indian festivals and the dates for the year 2002. Due to poor usability, I have gotten rid of the calendar format I'd used for previous years, and now it is simply a list.

I am proof-reading mother's forthcoming book on the History of Education in India. It is a very interesting book, with numerous illustrations and anecdotes. Look out for the date of release!

An Excerpt from the Preface:

Unfortunately, the Europeans who occupied India never saw the beauty in the value of the Indian educational system. They tried to reform Indians by providing their education system, which involved schools, libraries, and teachers on payroll. Lord William Bentinck paved way for a large-scale education of Indians in British ways. Some Indian leaders such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy supported the English education system and it became fashionable for good students to learn English. Most of the leaders who fought for India’s freedom were educated in this way.

After independence, it was most essential for India to formulate educational policy that was relevant to India and solved our unique social economic problems. Unfortunately we continued the borrowed European system that was prevalent. Although Gandhi declared that the education system should involve skilled training and reformed the successive governments promoted universal educational system for India. Education became cheap and available to everybody, even those who did not love or long for education. The system did not distinguish between children of an artist, a farmer, or a merchant. So the skills that were transferred from generation to generation no longer found demand. The fact that we have to have police guard the examination rooms today shows the degeneration of our current education system.

How can the Adivasis (native tribals) who roam the forest with bows and arrows be restricted in the four walls and taught daylong lessons? Our schools and colleges became factories that produce unemployed graduates. Everyday we hear of highly qualified engineers and lawyers taking up paltry jobs in governmental organizations. The time has come to rethink our spending of public money for namesake education that we provide that is only resulting large-scale unemployment.

(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!)

First Written: Saturday, February 09, 2002Last Modified: 1/29/2003

Google Search Appliance

Full-text Searching Gets a New Life

Google today announced a Search Engine Appliance
that can be configured via a browser and setup in
a few minutes. I have no doubt that it will be a runaway success.

I am curious to know how the Microsoft Only shops will react to this product. (It runs Unix)

Read my review of Inktomi UltraSeek (a competing product).Google has taken the
same approach to sell their technology.

(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!)

First Written: Monday, February 11, 2002Last Modified: 1/29/2003

Axis of Evil

Axis of Evil ?

The other day, President Bush described Iran, Iraq, and North Korea
as the axis of evil.

One of my friends pointed to me that none of the people who attacked America, were from these countries.
Most of them were Saudis, and some Pakistanis. How come Pakistan,
Saudi Arabia, and Sudan don't appear on the list? "Oh! They're our allies" -- I sarcastically replied to him.

Dashle Dissents (link to Yahoo News) -- In a first sign that fight-against-terrorism is not
everything-you-can-do-in-it's-name,
the democrats are voicing their opinion.

I don't know what can open the eyes of our leaders, to the true problems
facing the world today, that of intolerance, hate, and inability to
see the truth.

Boisterous speeches by the administration have been
met with even more boisterous protests by Iran and North Korea.

The President just made it easier for them to hate America.

(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!)

First Written: Tuesday, February 12, 2002Last Modified: 1/29/2003

One Weird Nation

One Weird Nation

Do you wonder why India, a nation of one billion
people cannot win a single Olympic medal? That's
because Indian people aspire for higher records!

I am not sure whether or not they work, but the advertisers are seemingly demanding them. My ad-agency contacted me today to find out if I was willing carry some BFF ads on Kamat's Potpourri.

I have two concerns. First of course, is the redesign of the templates to fit them (and what to do with the space, when there is no inventory available). The second is the compromises I have to make in the user's experience.

I have been just told that some errors have crept in the
manuscript we just submitted to a publisher. Back to drawing board...

Badly Needed: A version control system that works over http.

I mourn the death of my cousin Sunila Shanbhag of brain cancer in Ankola. She was barely 40.

I also mourn the demise of Mrs. Laxmi Shanbhag of Manekkar, mother of a close friend, and a fantastic cook. She was 59.

I am working on resurrecting a grand exhibition, Alamkara, 5000 Years of Indian Art (preview), that was put together by the Government of Singapore in 1994.

(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!)

First Written: Monday, February 18, 2002Last Modified: 2/19/2002

White Man's Olympics

White Man's Olympics So Boring

The 2002 Winter Olympics are going on, but thanks to a very insipid coverage by NBC, I am not excited. Too much of recorded (not live) coverage, too much melodramatization, and too little intelligent commentary.
The Third World countries have better sports coverage.

Today is 20/02/2002 or 02/20/2002 (depending on your nationality), one of those numerically interesting dates. Another day like this, consisting only of two numerics will come on day after tommorrow (2/22/2002). And then the next won't come in another thousand years!

BBC: Party Like It's 20022002! -- at the bottomof the page you fill find numerous interesting palindromes contributed by patrons.

New Idea: I want a DVD game that I can play on my Home Theater using the remote control to navigate and shoot.

(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!)

First Written: Wednesday, February 20, 2002Last Modified: 1/24/2003

Kamat is No More

DR. K. L. KAMAT IS NO MORE.
(Posted by Hiryoung Kim)

We are all saddened to break the news of the demise of Dr. K. L. Kamat.

He was the most important contributor to Kamat's Potpourri.
Without him, there was no Kamat's Potpourri.

He had touched so many people's hearts through his books
and photographs.

(Comments Disabled for Now. Sorry!)

First Written: Saturday, February 23, 2002Last Modified: 1/29/2003

Kamat Lives

Kamat Lives

The Kamats thank everyone who have shown us
support during our loss. (K. L. Kamat passed away on Feb. 20th at his residence due to a cardiac arrest).

Upon his death, Kamat donated his eyes and just now we have received word that they were successfully
implanted on two different people (due to shortage of eyes, recipients are allowed only one eye in India), enabling them to see for the first time in their lives.

So, not only Kamat lives via his books, memorable photographs, and other media, he continues to live through his eyes.

Update: The Eye Foundation of India received a lot of publicity after this blog entry was carried by major Indian media. (sample)